Vacuum-cleaner-brush bearing



25 tion showing the interior construction of said heldiby the housing.The housingis ada t d Patented A pr. 1d, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE TAKES I. DABST, OF EAST CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO ELECTRICVACUUM CLEANER COMPANY, INC., OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A. CORPORATION OF NEWYORK VACUUM-CLEANER-BRUSE BEARING Application filed January 3, 1928.Serial No. 244,071.

The present invention relates to a vacuum Referring to Fig. 2, 19 is atube which carcleaner brush bearing and has for its, object ries thecentrally mounted driving pulley 11 to provide an improved bearing ofthis charand the brush proper comprising the usual acter which isthoroughly sealed and prorows of hair tufts inserted in the walls of thetected from lint, threads and dust-laden air tube. The tube, brushproper and pulley to which it is subjected in use,.which' is at the maybe conveniently termed the brush and same time readily demountable inthe field represents any rotary brush for a vacuum for cleaning andinspection, and which per-' cleaner. The brush 1s mounted at each endmits the brush assembly to be removed and rein bearings, the exteriorhousing of one of 10 placed without dismantling the bearing. which isshown at 20 and the latter is in turn For a consideration of what isbelieved to carried in a fixed holder 21 ofsuitable conbe novel and myinvention, attention is directstruction secured to the side wall ofnozzle 6. ed to the accompanying drawing, the follow- In the presentexample it is secured to a boss ing description taken in connection withthe 22 integral with the nozzle wall. The particdrawing, and the ap ndedclaim. ular holding means for the bearin sdoes not In the drawin ig. 1is a side view of a concern the present invention. owever, it

' vacuum cleaner having a rotary brush with is arranged preferably topermit the easy re- Which the a i g 0f the p ese nV ti n is w moval fromand insertion in the nozzle of the adapted to be used; Fig. 2 is anenlarged View, brush with its bearings. v

partly in cross section, showing a bearlng Referring now to Fig. 3, thebearing housembodying the invention mounted in the nozing 20 is asingle-piece or unitary, cylindrical, 1 zle of the vacuum cleaner ofFig. 1, one end of cup-shaped member into which a suitable the brush andone bearing being shown, and bearing, such as aball bearing 23 ispressed,

- Fig. 3 is a further enlarged view in cross secthe outer race 24 of thebearing being thereby bearing. v to begripped and held on its exterior aout Referring to Fig. 1, 5 is the cas ng of a the bearing and is thereprovided with a vacuum cleaner having a forwardly extendpressed exteriorprojection 25 which preing floor nozzle 6 through which dust and ventsit from rotating in the holding means21. so other matter are drawn by asuction fan 7 and The inner race 26 of the bearing is free to deliveredthrough the casing to a dust bag 8. rotate andreceives the shoulderedend of an The nozzle is supported on side rollers or castaxiallyextending hollow stud 27 connected ers 9 and is fitted with a rotaryfloor brush inwith the brush. The stud is slidably removdicated at 10.The bIZIlSh is provided Wlth a able from the inner race and is heldtherein pulley wh1ch 1s drlven through a belt by a finely pitched screw28 which engages y a dri g pulley 13. The driving pulley correspondingthreads 29 inthe bore30 of and fan re m n e on a m on Shflfi1 14 thestud and draws the shouldered end of the which is driven directly by anelectrlc m r stud into a seated position within and against 15, thearmature Of which is indicated at 16. the innen race, A lock washer 31beneath The cleaner is moved over thev surface to be th h d f th Screw dth fin it h f th cleaned by a Suitable handle 17 and is l P- screwprevents the stud from loosening from ported at the rearby a caster orwheel 18. the bearing in operation.

The above-described vacuum cleanerrepreq .The bearing is lubricated whennecessary sents any vacuum cleaner havinga rotary andthe screw 28 isreadily accessible, through brush to which bearings embodymg-the inabossed central opening 32 in the end wall of vention may be applied., Inthe present ex-' ample the brush is journaled within the nozzleaccording to the usual practice in bearings supported by the nozzle sidewalls as shown more fully in Fig. 2.

the housing adjacent the bearing and directly in line with the screw.The opening is pro yided with a suitable closure means, such as a screwcap 33. The bearing is thus protected from dust on one side by theclosed nd of the housing. On the opposite side itis protected by acup-shaped packing washer 34 which surrounds the stud and seats adjacentthe outer frace within the housing. The 'washer carries a ring packing35 of suitable material and a retaining washer 36 for the packing. Thepacking contacts with the stud and packs it against dust and otherforeign matter which may tend to enter the bearing.

The brush stud 27 isconnected with the brush by a flanged or groovedhead 37 which is integral with the stud and which is pressed onto theend of the brush tube. The brush, grooved head, stud and inner race arethus connected and are rotatable together abouta common axis, while thehousing, outer race and packing means remain stationary. The housing isenlarged at it's'outer end to receive the grooved head fully within itand is of such internal diameter about the head-that only a closerunning clearance space i38-38 is provided between it and the head. Thisspace, together with an annular chamber 39 formed by the groove in thehead provide a labyrinth packing between the dust-laden air within thenozzle and the inner packing means 34 and35. The head-for the brush tubeis also protected from thread winding by the housing which extends overit, that is overhangs the flange 40.

-' The above-described bearing structure may ,be considered to comprisea brush assembly which includes the brush or brush tube 19 with theheads mounted thereon, and the bearing assembly which includes thehousing 2Q, bearing 23, and packing means,-together with screw 28 andwasher 31. With the construction shown the brush assembly'may be-.removed from the beari-n assembly by simply removing'cap 33 anunscrewing screw 28 The brush assembly is then withdrawn axially asindicated by the dotted outline 41 leaving the be ring assembly inreadiness to receive a new ush' assembly without disturbing the bearingarrangement.

This construction thus makes field servicing of the bearing and brushstructure very simple and easy since the brush when worn out is thuseasily removed and replaced by a new one and the bearing is easilyrelubricated through the opening provided .by removable cap 33. Thisresults in asaving to the user since the brush replacement involves onlythe cost of the brush and is quickly accomplished. 1

The easy removal of the brush assembly from the bearing also facilitatesoccasional cleaning of the bearing and brush. The construction has theadvantage that the support for the bearing maybe located directly aboutthe bearing, tlius eliminating vibration and wear ordinarilyoccasioned'by an overhung construction in which the bearing is supportedhand this 24th day axially at a distance from the bearing sur-- theshouldered end of the stud is seated, means carried by the stud forengaging the inner race to hold the stud in said seated position,

said means being releasable to permit the stud to be withdrawn from thebearing, a cylindrical cup-shaped housing having-at one end an enlargedportion which surrounds the head wit a close running clearance, saidhead being rovided with an annular groove which forms a labyrinthpacking with the enlarged portion of the housing, at the opposite end ofsaid housing enclosing the bearing, and a removable closure means forsaid oppgs'ite end of the casing, said closure means ing axially in linewith the'holdin means and adjacent the bearing, whereby y removing saidclosure means, said holdin means may be removed and the bearing an outermemberdpf the packing removed as a unit from the stu 1 In witnesswhereof, I have hereunto set my of December,'1927.

JAMES M. DARST.

